Spring Break...

I broke through my knitting impasse and got my next big project on the needles. Perfectionism really is the enemy of creativity. Sometimes you just have to do something, anything, just to get the process started. The main part of this should be very simple and, I hope, striking.

I've finished spinning all the mossy merino/yak I had ready. I have more of both parts, but need to get Boris (the drum carder) from my friend Fern (the co-owner) to prep the rest of it. I'm very pleased with how it's turning out. I look at that yarn and think, "Yes, I can call myself a spinner now." And my brain is running circles trying to decide which fiber to throw on the wheel next. I'm leaning toward finishing up a batch of Shetland/black alpaca I bought at Wisconsin Sheep & Wool in the fall. I'm making a nice DK-ish 3 ply out of it. I got about half way through the pound I bought in the fall before I got distracted by other stuff.

Our weather today is just glorious and yesterday was lovely, too. Sad to say, though, that we might get 9" of snow in the next 24 hours!!! Just when we thought it might really be ending. Of course, the days following that will be warming up some, so even if we do get a big dump of the white stuff, it truly cannot last long at this point. Right? Still, looking out the window at the bright blue cloudless sky, it's hard to imagine where all that snow's going to come from.

Mothra!

Yesterday we were expecting some exciting weather. Thankfully, Madison had the Weather Shields up, so the storms all went around us. But earlier in the day, before we knew that we weren't going to get hit, I was securing the items on the porch in case of strong winds, driving rains, and tornadoes. And I noticed a brown thing hanging on the edge of a large peanut butter jar in a corner. Last summer Mr SABLE found a caterpillar and gave it a nice place to make a cocoon. It stayed in there, out on the porch, all winter. And, lo and behold, here it is:

Now, don't go panicking! This moth has no interest in munching on wool. It's one of Mr SABLE's friends and means us no harm. I'm sure he'll be on his way this evening, off to find a mate and make more moths.

BTW, it's a polyphemus moth, a giant silk moth!

Edited to add another view:


In other news, last night I finished the knitting on The Mead Scarf.

Yeah, that's a pretty uninspired photo. I'll do a better job once I get it blocked. For those who missed the details, last fall Sarah sent me a lovely skein of hand-spun alpaca for a birthday present. Eventually I decided that a very simple lace scarf would be a great use for the yarn. The pattern is just simple zig zags of eyelets running the length of the scarf. Unblocked, it measures about 57 inches. I stopped because I was getting close to a break in the yarn (I think I broke it when winding; can't remember), and I didn't want to make a splice. So, there's a wee bit left on the cone. Maybe that'll become a fair isle accent on a hat or something. I'm hoping to block it out to about 6 feet long. I have a ball of nylon twine somewhere that I used for blocking a Branching Out scarf a while back. Just got to decide where to pin it out...

Last night, in preparation for the tornado we didn't have, I also did a bunch of cleaning and rearranging in my lair, to free up some seating for my family in the event that we needed to seek shelter. And stumbled upon Scott's Tweedy Sweater, a UFO of such long duration that at times I feel I should just give up on it. But I worked several rows last night and now I can see that I'm almost up to the armhole shaping on the front and the back is already done, so I think I'll just soldier on with it. I know I have a couple of pairs of socks hanging around, too, that are within a stone's throw of being finished. I ought to dig those out and do right by them.

Meanwhile, I've been tinkering with my fair isle colors and every time I change one thing, it leads to a ripple effect that necessitates further change. Good thing I don't mind swatching. And it's always a learning experience. I've said it before, but there really is no substitute for putting together the yarns in the knitting to see how they will interact. Training and experience make me a better predictor, but I get surprises every day.

Updates

After giving my hands a break and working on fine gauge stuff for a few weeks, I was ready to come back to the Andrew Morrison Honorary Cardigan, aka Shetland Sweater, yesterday. I need to work a few more inches of garter stitch on the collar, sew up a few things, like the underarms, and give it a wash before I install the zippper. I want to wash it before the zipper because I know from my swatch that this yarn blooms a lot, and I don't want it puckering or pulling when it changes gauge.

I did a quick try-on this morning and I'm excited to see it all come together. No, I didn't get a picture of the try-on because I was still in my dissheveled state: unbrushed, ungroomed, in p.j.s, etc. And I was home alone, so it would have meant setting up the tripod and messing with the auto-timer. (Note to self: buy a remote control for the camera.)

Today's weather is warm and humid. What a pleasant change from a few weeks ago. Bulbs are coming up, the grass is greening up, most of the snow is gone. A few days ago I was trying to get some pics of last year's flowers, but didn't really succeed. This sunflower was the best I got. (Click it for a bigger version.)


On Thursday I got a call from my dad. His mother died that morning. It's not the kind of devastating loss that makes ordinary life grind to a halt. She was very old. She had always been a difficult person. She particularly never liked my mother and never cared for me. Well, eventually I think she liked me some, but only after I produced two adorable baby boy grandchildren. As it turns out, my husband has a very important work trip scheduled for the coming week, so if I tried to go to the funeral, I'd be taking my kids out of school and driving at least 5 hours each way with them. And they're prone to car sickness. And they fight a lot. And, they act out worse than usual when in a situation with a lot of new people when they are expected to behave well. So, my folks and I decided that I'll stay home.

Several years ago I noticed that my grandmother's clothes were all getting really ratty and dingy. She had a lot of money, but was a tightwad and as shopping became too hard for her, she just didn't do it. I had some magenta knit fabric and sewed her a jacket and pants that were cheerful, clean, and easy care. My parents told me that she wanted to be buried in that outfit. She wore it to all her functions (art shows, cocktails with friends, etc.) and bragged to all who would listen that I had made it. So, maybe by the end, she didn't dislike me as much as she had in my youth.

Fritzi Morrison

Now Owen is Sick

Mr. SABLE finally went back to work today and now Owen is running a fever. Poor kid. A week ago he fell off his sled and bruised the cartilage in the chest area, causing him some discomfort when breathing. Yesterday I took him in to be seen by the doctor for that. This afternoon, he suddenly started feeling chilled and running a fever, so I think he has the flu that we've been passing around. I hope that The Little Emperor will be spared. Next season, I don't think I'll mess around with skipping the flu shots!

We're expecting rain, sleet, snow, freezing stuff, and more rain for the next several days. I tell ya, I'm starting to really really long for spring about now.

I hope to have progress pics of the AMHC, aka Shetland Sweater, tomorrow. I haven't given a lot of time to knitting the last several days, but I'm almost up to the finishing stage.

Like I Needed More Yarn...

Last night I got an email from The Sow's Ear that they would be having a big winter clearance sale this weekend. Wasting no time, I went over there this morning to check things out. It was very quiet there, which is probably because most of the yarn addicts were still at work and wouldn't be in until later. I was pleased to see that the remaining Jamieson Spindrift was at 30% off, with further discounts given for cleaning out all of a color. I was happy to oblige! (For those of you who like blue, there were still a bunch of balls of a couple different blues left, plus a bunch of pale yellow.)

The Overview


The Jamieson Spindrift I picked up. These came to $2.98 each!


This yarn is intended to be used as a 4 strands at a time superbulky, but I'm just going to make 4 small balls out of each hank and use it as a worsted. 50% off in the Yarn Dump! (edited to add: the Mar La is actually slightly twisted, so separating the strands is a major pain in the derriere. Not recommended!)


Two lone balls of cotton/angora at 50% off. Maybe a little hat for fashion (but not much for warmth?).

It was damn cold out on the porch while I was setting up these pictures. I didn't want to fuss or arrange artfully or retake. Quick'n'dirty. Turns out, it's about 8 degrees out there, and there's a windchill factor, too. BRRRR.

Finally, you probably want to see the update picture of the Andrew Morrison Honorary Cardigan, aka Shetland Sweater. It's coming along pretty well. I did make a mistake in getting my sleeves aligned correctly so that the patterning would be completely symmetrical. I decided to live with it, though I'll be careful to write the instructions so that others might avoid that mistake.

Shetland Progress Pic

Here's a progress picture of the Shetland/Faroese Andrew Morrison Honorary Cardigan. One sleeve is done, the other is about 3 inches along. After I finish the second sleeve and join it to the body, I'll work a raglan yoke area, running a pattern motif up the seam lines, much as I'm doing on the underside of the sleeves. I'll be cutting a steek open in the center front (it is a cardigan, after all) and probably installing a zipper, as seen in my original concept sketch.

The light out on the porch was kind of strange: very harsh, low winter sunlight. I was noticing that it felt a little nippy and checked my widget when I got up here to get pics off the camera: officially, it is 1 degree F in Madison right now. Still, we're getting so acclimated to the extremely cold temps that I would have guessed more like 12 than 1. The last couple of afternoons, it's been warm enough that my eyeballs and nostrils don't freeze up walking the block from where I park into the Little Emperor's school in the afternoon. This is something to be grateful for.

Heat Wave!

Hey, we're going to be in double digits above zero this week! Maybe it's time to break out the barbecue and eat on the porch.

I've had a slow week, knitting-wise. My kids, like kids all over the upper midwest, had no school on Monday. It was a very long day for us, holed up in the house with nothing to do but bicker. Mr SABLE went to work. Owen's best buddy couldn't come over. The Little Emperor couldn't go outside to play, and by evening he was bursting. Yesterday, the Madison schools had an in-service day for the teachers, so it was a short day. School ended before lunch. To make matters worse, I had agreed to switch my volunteer stint from Monday a.m. to Tuesday this week only. So I had about a half hour of peace yesterday. To complete the disruption of my knitterly activities, there will be no middle school on Friday.

Last night, I sat on the couch and worked on the Andrew Morrison sleeve.

It's nearly ready to hold while I knit the second one: about 40 more rounds.


While I was taking pictures of the sleeve in progress, Hailey came over to offer a few pointers and try to get me to play string with her. The silver elastic you see on the floor there is her all-time favorite cat toy. She fetches it if we throw it and she carries it to wherever we are to try to get a game going.